Game Warden Outpost Complete By Luke Giles
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Texas Outdoor Writers Recognize CCA/ Valero Youth Program CCA Program sponsored by Valero Energy Corp. seeks to bring marine conservation to kids.
in sEptEMbEr oF 2008, CCA Texas pledged $32,000 to Texas
thE tEXas oUtdoor writErs association (towa)
Parks and Wildlife game wardens for the construction of a floating cabin in the Lower Laguna Madre. Construction on the cabin, a new front-line for wardens enforcing game and safety laws and providing for public safety along the desolate stretches of water in south Texas is now complete. “The Game wardens in south Texas are to be commended for doing such a fantastic job on this floating cabin. Using the money donated by CCA Texas, they built this important facility by hand,” said CCA Texas Executive Director, Robby Byers. “Their hard work on this project as well as their unyielding drive to protect Texas’ natural resources and the people that enjoy them show a dedication in which all CCA Texas members can take pride.” The cabin will be anchored just south of the Land Cut in Kennedy County and will provide a central location for wardens to patrol Willacy, Kleberg and Cameron counties where the Lower Laguna Madre is located. “This cabin will allow wardens to patrol the Lower Laguna for extended periods of time, save money on fuel, and will increase the amount of time wardens will have to provide public awareness of their presence on these waters. They will also be able to react in a more quickly in case of emergencies.” said Byers. “Thanks to this cabin, the Lower Laguna will be a safer place for all who enjoy it.”
selected the CCA/Valero Rising Tide youth program as the winner of its Special Projects/Conservation award at its 2009 annual convention. At a time when far more kids are texting than casting, the recognition by Texas outdoor writers emphasizes just how critical the need is to get students more involved in protecting the marine environment. CCA and Valero Energy Corp combined efforts to create this multi-media youth outreach and education program. “Other than teachers, perhaps no one knows better than outdoor writers how difficult it is these days to get kids thinking about the world beyond their cell phones and video games,” said Patrick Murray, CCA executive vice president. “We are honored that TOWA recognized how valuable this program is to getting the next generation ready to assume its role as stewards of our marine resources. The beautiful thing about this program is that it can be accessed so many ways. With the newsletter, website and conservation lesson plan, we are able to bring the message of marine conservation and education to a wide variety of children in an even wider variety of locations.” CCA and Valero Energy Corp. teamed up in 2007 to promote conservation education and ethics in young anglers through the Rising Tide program. Valero’s generous support allowed CCA to devote more resources to the youth program than ever before, with particular attention given to the development of a newsletter, youth webpage and marine conservation lesson plan that has been made available to junior high school teachers, summer camps and home school programs. Through the lesson plan, students are tasked with identifying conservation problems in the marine environment, researching them, and most importantly, creating solutions to solve them. “We wanted to build on the fact that kids are capable of doing amazing things right now and develop a program that would tap into that potential,” said Murray. “Making students and others aware of the conservation challenges that face our bays and oceans and helping them be part of the solution lays the foundation for a lifetime of conservation. We are fortunate to have a partner in Valero that is committed to educating youth about conservation and coastal responsibility.” For more information about the Rising Tide program or a free copy of the Rising Tide newsletter or lesson plan, educators are encouraged to contact Patrick Murray at ccantl@joincca.org.
July 2009
Texas Saltwater Fishing
www.TSFMAG.com
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